According to the Hartford Courant, ConnDOT is studying the feasibility of building a bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the William H. Putnam Route 3 Bridge, which connects the towns of Glastonbury and Wethersfield. The pathway is supported by Glastonbury and Wethersfield’s town councils, State Rep. Thomas Kehoe (D-31), the Capital Region Council of Governments, cycling advocates, and others.

ConnDOT seems to have changed its tune from earlier this year, when the agency told Rep. Kehoe that such a pathway was prohibited by law, and that there was no available funding for pedestrian or cycling projects. Still, a ConnDOT official told the Courant that a pathway would have “significant construction costs.” Perhaps so, but ConnDOT’s current contribution to biking and walking is insignificant; a TSTC report (PDF) analyzing the agency’s projected 2007-2010 spending found that less than 1% of the capital budget would go to bike/pedestrian projects.

Congratulations are due to Rep. Kehoe and the other advocates who pushed for the pathway study, and to ConnDOT for listening to them. The Courant reports that the feasibility study will be completed early next year.